Workout classes and training for little $$

Question

For the past few years, I've worked out primarily by myself. I stay in shape, but I do not set goals, push myself, or try new workouts very often. While I have always been fairly fit, my workouts have gotten rather stale, and I find it increasingly difficult to motivate myself.

A workout buddy would be a step in the right direction, but probably not enough. What I really need is a recurring class or program, like CrossFit, where I can work towards fitness goals with a group and with trainers pushing me, helping me with my form, teaching me new workouts, etc.

The problem is that where I live (SF Bay Area), CrossFit and similar programs cost anywhere from $120 - $150 a month, which is way out of my price range.

Do any of you have suggestions for how I could get a similar experience for a much more reasonable price?

Answer 1

I've had pretty good success getting a few buddies together to train for an event in 6-12 months. I've trained for power lifting, Olympic lifting, and a few half marathons. With all of those I had the mental reminder that I was either going to show up and do well or show up and embarrass myself, which is decent motivation for me.

But with each one I was also able to find like minded people. I have a few gym friends and fitness people tend to gravitate towards each other. If you have a buddy that might be up for doing some regional level competition, I'd go with signing up for something in your area.

Pick an event, then sit down and come up with a training plan. Bill Starr 5x5 for power lifting, any number of running programs for half marathons, etc. It's not hard to find good training programs, it sounds like you mainly need a kick in the motivation pants which you might get from having a goal to shoot for.